Above motherboard interposer with quarter wavelength electical paths

ABSTRACT

A computing device has a circuit substrate having a socket, a main processor inserted into the socket, an interposer substrate inserted between the socket and the main processor, the circuit substrate, the socket and the interposer substrate being electrically connected, and peripheral circuit modules residing on the interposer substrate, wherein each peripheral circuit module has an electrical path having a path length to the main processor less than one-quarter of a wavelength of signals that will travel the electrical path.

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/163,502, filed Jun. 17, 2011, which is acontinuation of, and claims priority to, U.S. Provisional PatentApplication 61/476,501, filed Apr. 18, 2011.

BACKGROUND

Central processing units in all different types of computing devicescontinue to increase in operating speed, with similar gains occurring inperipheral circuits such as memories, peripheral computing interface(PCI) circuits, graphics processors, and many others. However, the gainsin speed have begun to run into external physical limitations thathamper performance by capping the data transfer speed between theprocessor and its associated peripheral devices, including the memory.These limitations include signal integrity problems due to highcapacitance/high resistance signal lines, tight line spacing on printedcircuit boards which leads to crosstalk, connector and circuit tracediscontinuities in the signal path, and increased power consumptionleading to higher device temperatures and heat management problems.Dealing with these factors often results in lengthened, more expensivedesign cycles, more costly motherboard layout and production, and morecomplicated and costly cooling techniques.

One can view signal integrity as the measure of confidence that a datavalue received at one end of a signal line matches the data valuetransmitted from the other end. As the transmission speed increases,previously inconsequential circuit non-idealities such as cross-talk,line capacitance, and impedance discontinuities, have a greater impacton the signal fidelity, which limits the achievable speed to a levelbelow that what the native semiconductor devices could otherwisesupport.

The number of elements within CPU and memory devices, and their nativeswitching speed, has increased along the way to increasing processingspeed, and the number of Input-Output (I/O) pins has similarly increasedto provide wider data paths and, hence, transfer rate, to the outsideworld; however, the general package size remains the same or smaller.This results in more and more dense CPU connector pin arrays, which inturn forces the signal lines between external devices and the CPU to beplaced closer and closer together. This leads to increased line-to-linecoupling, resulting in greater cross-talk and reduced signal integrity.

Other characteristics associated with current architectures alsocontribute to reduced signal integrity. The push to increase memorycapacity results in more and more memory devices being connected to thememory bus, often resulting in longer bus lengths to accommodate morememory modules. Longer lines, however, come at a price, which includesrelatively high capacitance in the signal paths, relatively high seriesresistance of the signal paths, an increasing number of discontinuitiesin the signal path, and greater disparity in time delays between thedriving end of the bus and the nearest and farthest load or destinationdevices.

In a typical memory array, precise synchronization of send and receiveactivities is vital to the proper overall operation. As more and morememory or other peripheral circuits or devices are connected along abus, the disparity in the time delay between the CPU and the nearestdestination or load device, and the CPU and the farthest destination orload device, becomes problematic. For proper synchronization, alldevices must wait until certain signals have been received, thuslimiting the speed of the entire network to that of the slowest(farthest away) device. Various techniques are used to attempt tomitigate this so-called differential delay problem, but in general, thelonger the line the slower the overall performance.

The signal lines between the CPU and memory or other peripherals may becrafted as transmission lines having a specific line impedance, withdriving and load end terminations, or as simple wires. Transmissionlines generally provide the highest speed signal transmissionenvironment, but the requirement that they be resistively terminated forproper signal integrity mandates the use of extra power supplies andtermination resistors, and an attendant increase in power. If properlyterminated an ideal transmission line can provide good signal fidelityindependent of length; however, in the case of a memory system, eachconnection, or “Tap”, along the line, and the series resistance inherentin the wire itself, disrupt or attenuate the signal along the line andplace a limit on the useful length at any given frequency of operation.

Signal lines may also be designed as simple wires, in which case they donot require termination; however, their performance is now limited bythe series resistance of the metal, and the parasitic capacitance toground and/or other nearby wires.

The series resistance in each signal line consumes a portion of thesignal power present at the input end of the line, converting theelectrical energy into heat and in the process attenuating the signal.The longer the line the greater the signal attenuation, until at somepoint the receiving end can no longer recognize the information encodedon the signal. This imposes limits on the length of the signal path,which will probably be different than in the case of a transmission lineenvironment described above and, therefore, the overall size of thememory. Amplifiers, buffers, and repeaters may alleviate this issue, butthese all contribute to increased overall component count and boardarea, increased power and thermal load, and increased cost andcomplexity of the system.

Signal lines crafted as simple wires are also sensitive to, and limitedby, their capacitance to ground and surrounding conductors. As thelength of the line increases, or the physical distance to ground orother conductors is reduced, or the number of taps increases, the linecapacitance increases. Higher capacitance, coupled with higherresistance, results in lower signal path bandwidth, which in the case ofa digital pulse train slows the rising and falling edges. As the edgesslow the pulse stretches out in time, so fewer bits of data can betransmitted in a given interval and data transfer rate drops or becomelimited. As the pulse transmission rate is increased the data bits canrun together resulting in errors due to so-called inter-symbolinterference.

Discontinuities typically consist of transitions in the size andthickness of the metal or other conductive material forming the signalpath. For example, a signal line transition to the contact pad of athrough-via on a printed circuit board, a trace turning a corner, asignal line intersecting the contact pad for a memory connector, or fora pin on the ball grid array or land grid array on an integratedcircuit, all cause discontinuities. These change the local impedance ofa transmission line on the one hand, or add capacitance to a simple wireon the other hand, both of which distort the shape of the signal due toreflections or simply reduce the bandwidth and, hence, the amplitude.All of these effects impact the signal integrity, in turn leading todata errors that require compensation such as periodic retransmission ofthe signals, confirmation signaling, or other typical error correctionapproached.

One approach to handling signal integrity problems involves boosting thepower of the signal to compensate for attenuation or distortion,resulting in higher power consumption for the CPU and the peripheralcircuits. This also produces a higher level of heat to manage. Heat ingeneral causes a degradation in the semiconductor devices due toincreased current leakage within the transistors, as well as a generalreduction in transistor operating speed due to decreased conductormobility. This mitigation approach can result in a cycle of boosting thepower to overcome the loss of speed, generating more heat because of theincreased power, which then requires a further increase in power andheat, until one reaches a practical or economic limit.

Other error mitigation approaches involve reducing the speed of thetransmissions, thereby reducing the impact of capacitive loading on thelines, as well as reducing the power required to drive the lines athigher speeds. However, this approach runs counter to the desire forfaster speeds and more performance.

Still other mitigation approaches stack the memory chips and/or theprocessor chips to shorten the communication paths. However, theserequire custom designed motherboards and non-traditional systemarchitectures, making them impractical for typically uses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an above motherboard interposer.

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of an embodiment of an above motherboardinterposer.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a motherboard having a connector.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a CPU mounted into the connector with aninterposer.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of a flexible interposer.

FIGS. 6A and 6B shows an embodiment of an alternative packagingarrangement.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show an alternative embodiment of an alternativepackaging arrangement.

FIG. 8 shows a side view of an embodiment of an interposer with springcontacts.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show side views of an embodiment of an interposer havingelastomer contacts.

FIG. 11 shows a prior art fanout length of DIMM connectors on amotherboard.

FIG. 12 shows a fanout length of an above board interposer.

FIG. 13 shows a prior art embodiment of a signal path having multipledifferent discontinuities.

FIG. 14 shows the TDR response of an embodiment of an above boardinterposer signal line.

FIG. 15 displays a TDR signature of the signal path of a conventionalmotherboard to memory module path.

FIGS. 16-19 show embodiments of the above board interposer configured toensure equal path lengths.

FIG. 20 shows an embodiment of a motherboard with typical DRAM memorywiring.

FIG. 21 shows an embodiment of a motherboard with DRAM memory wiringeliminated.

FIG. 22 shows an embodiment of an above board interposer havingperipheral circuits to function as off chip DRAM cache.

FIG. 23 shows an embodiment of an interposer having short length memorythermal paths to a CPU heat sink.

FIG. 24 shows an embodiment of the interposer having peripheral circuitsin direct contact with a heat sink.

FIG. 25 shows an embodiment of an interposer having peripheral circuitsconnected to the heat sink with a graphite thermal sheet material orother similar heat transfer media.

FIG. 26 shows an embodiment of an interposer having an air-cooled heatsink.

FIG. 27 shows an embodiment having an interposer coupled to anothercircuit.

FIG. 28 shows an embodiment of an interposer mated to a CPU pin gridarray.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an “above motherboard” or “above board”interposer. The term “above motherboard” refers to the location of theinterposer as being up above the socket or mounting plane for thecentral processing unit. The term “central processing unit” may be themain processor for a computing device or may be the processor on anykind of accessory board, such as a video or audio board, although theterm may be referred to as a CPU. The term “above motherboard” alsorefers to the configurations of the connections between the processingunit and peripheral circuits. The peripheral circuits here are thosethat reside upon the above board interposer, to which the connectionsare made through the interposer, rather than through the motherboard.While several examples are given below, the peripheral circuits may beany type of integrated circuit and no limitation to any particular typeis implied.

FIG. 1 shows a CPU package 10 mounted to a motherboard 12 through aconnector 16. In this instance the connector consists of a land gridarray (LGA) using springs such as 20 to make connections between thearray of connections on the CPU package and the array of connectors suchas 18 and 22 on the motherboard to which the processor will connect.While in this embodiment the connectors are LGA connections, but mayalso consist of a ball grid array (BGA), a pin grid array (PGA),elastomer contacts, etc., for either the connector between the CPU andthe above board interposer or between the above board interposer and themotherboard. For purposes of this discussion, any mechanisms thatconnect between the motherboard, the interposer, and the CPU packagewill be referred to as interconnects, whether they bill pads, BGAs,PGAs, LGAs, etc.

In prior art, all of the connections between the processor and themotherboard would pass through the socket to the motherboard, such as26. With the use of the above board interposer 14, selected ones of theconnections between the CPU 10 and traces on the motherboard 12 becomererouted through the interposer to the peripheral circuits on theinterposer, not shown here. The route 24 shows an example of one of thererouted paths. As will become apparent in further discussion, thisreduces the connection length, the number of discontinuities, andeliminates many issues with routing the connections through themotherboard.

In some instances, some connections between the CPU and the motherboardremain untouched in their routing. For example, connection path 28between the connector 18 and the motherboard 12 will pass through. Onthe other hand, the connection between connector 22 and the motherboardhas been rerouted to pass through the interposer 14, and will not makeconnection to the motherboard.

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the same configuration. Motherboard 12 has aconnector 16 that may consist of a LGA, BGA, etc., forming an array ofconnections to which the CPU 10 will connect to the motherboard 12. Theabove board interposer 14 lies between the CPU 10 and the connector 16.The above board interposer 14 includes peripheral circuits 30.Peripheral circuits may comprise memory, PCIe circuits, solid state diskdrives, etc. FIGS. 3-5 show a side view of an embodiment of the aboveboard interposer.

FIG. 3 shows the motherboard 12 upon which resides the connector 16. Inthis embodiment, the peripheral circuits 30 comprise at least one memorycircuit. In the prior art, the memory utilized by the CPU 10 wouldtypically reside somewhere on the motherboard 12, such as in the dualinline memory module (DIMM) connectors 40. By moving the memory onto theabove board interposer 14, one can significantly reduce access times,signal path length, discontinuities, capacitive and resistive effects,as well as increasing the signal integrity.

In FIG. 4, the CPU has been mounted into the connector 16 with theinterposer 14 in place. In FIG. 5, one can see that the interposer isflexible, allowing the portion or portions of the interposer to fold upperpendicular to the connector. This allows the interposer to be usedwith any socketed or otherwise insertable processor without impactingthe current architecture on the motherboard.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show an alternative packaging arrangement in which thereis a LGA/spring connection 16 between the motherboard 12 and theinterposer 14, as well as the connector 46 between the interposer andthe CPU package 10. FIG. 6A shows the CPU, the interposer, the sockets16 and 46 as separate components. FIG. 6B shows the components assembledtogether. The resulting structure has pass through connections such as28, “T” connections such as 27, and rerouted connections such as 24. Inthis embodiment, the peripheral circuits 30 reside on one side of theinterposer.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show a similar arrangement as FIGS. 6A and 6B, exceptthat the interposer has connectors 50. The peripheral circuits 30 inthis embodiment are attached to auxiliary interposer substrates such as44. The auxiliary interposer substrates connect to the above boardinterposer 14 connects through connectors 50. These connectors such as50 may be populated or not, as desired. This configuration allows highlyflexible arrangements of peripheral circuits in close proximity with theCPU. Further, the auxiliary interposers may also be flexible to allowthem to be bent to accommodate a particular architecture, or may bepre-bent or flexed to allow their arrangement.

FIG. 8 shows a side view of the interposer in contact with springcontacts. Again the connection can consist of spring contacts such as inan LGA connector, or other types of connectors, as mentioned previously.A possible point of confusion may result from the above board interposerbeing confused with what is typically referred to as a test interposer.Test interposers are typically employed to allow a device to be testedwithout damaging the device, and typically do not remain in place duringnormal operation; most importantly, however, test interposers are notrequired for proper operation of the device, in contrast to the aboveboard interposer which is a key, required, functional element of thesystem.

Test interposers typically have one of two types of connections, aT-type connection or an ‘out-and-back’ connection. In a T-connection, apass-through connection may have a further branch off of the side of it,similar to the letter T. An out-and-back connection has a connectionthat goes out from the connector on the CPU and then back to the sameconnector. It should be noted, that in contrast to the above boardinterposer, the connection either passes through or gets reroutedthrough the interposer, typically not both, although the T connectionscould be used as well. FIG. 8 shows this in comparison.

At least three layers exist in the interposer, a layer of nonconductivematerial 64, such as polyimide or FR-4, a layer of metal used to makeconnections in the above board interposer, and a solder mask 66 used toinsulate the metal layer 68 from unwanted contact with other devices orfeatures, and define access points to the metal layer 68 at locations atwhich connections to other devices or features will be formed. For passthrough contacts, such as 28, none of these three layers are involved.For a connection that mimics a test interposer T connection, such as 68,the metal layer 68 is involved. For a rerouted connection such as thatfrom contact pad 62, the polymer or other nonconductive material 64ensures that the connection from pad 62 does not reach the motherboard.Instead, the metal layer 68 will route that connection through theinterposer to the peripheral circuits, not shown.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a side view of another embodiment of an interposersubstrate, using elastomer connections such as TYCO MPI (metalizedparticle interconnect) conductive elastomer bumps. The use of flexibleconnectors or contact media in the arrays of connectors may assist withmechanical conformity and connection integrity.

Using the interposer, with whichever kinds of connectors or contacts areused, reduces many of the issues with memory connectors on motherboards,such as DIMMs. It must be noted that while the discussions may use DIMMsas an example of memory connectors, the same reasoning applies to anyon-motherboard memory or peripheral circuit connectors. One such issuewith on-motherboard connectors such as DIMMs is the fanout length of thesignal paths.

The length of the signal path has a huge effect on the signal integrityof signals traveling the path. Resistive and capacitive effects, as wellas discontinuities, reduce the power of the signal and can cause errorswhen received if the signal does not ‘make it’ to the other end with thecorrect voltage. FIG. 11 shows a prior art fanout length of DIMMconnectors on a motherboard, a single-line, multi-drop, fanout with fourmemory modules.

The CPU 10 connects to a line 70 which in turn connects to a line 72.Line 72 traverses the four DIMM connectors, each of which represent onedrop off of the line. The fanout length for four DIMMs is approximately52 inches, for six DIMMs it is approximately 80 inches. In contrast, asshown in FIG. 12, the fanout length for the above board interposer to amemory module example is between 1.5 to 2.5 inches from the CPU 10through the on-board connector 70 through the paths 82 a-c or 84 a-c.These segments will be discussed further with regard to FIGS. 14 and 15.

Further, the above board interposer has a path length that is within aquarter wavelength of the signals that will traverse the path. Theadvantages of being within a quarter wavelength include no need fortransmission lines, which saves power; a simpler signal path; lowercapacitive load requiring smaller drive signals, saving power; lowerread/write latency; simpler wire layout; lower part counts without theneed for terminating resistors, capacitors, etc.; smaller printedcircuit board (PCB) footprint with fewer layers, making it lessexpensive; and enhanced reliability with fewer vias and solder joints.

Typically, to determine the ¼ wavelength, one divides 300 by the clockfrequency of the signal, producing the wavelength of the signal inmeters. For a clock frequency of 1.066 GHz, one would divide 300 by 1066MHz, resulting in 0.281 meters, or 281 millimeters, or about 11 inches.One quarter of 11 inches is approximately 2.73 inches or 70 millimeters.Therefore, using the above board interposer provides the aboveadvantages.

Further, the use of the interposer eliminates many of the signaldiscontinuities that exist in current architectures where the processorinteracts with peripheral circuits through the motherboard. FIG. 13shows a prior art example of a signal path having multiple differentdiscontinuities. The path provides the connection between the CPU 10 andone of the DIMM connectors such as 99.

The path of FIG. 13 includes multiple discontinuities of severaldifferent types. The CPU connects to the motherboard through the spring86 introducing a first, inductive, discontinuity, followed by inductivediscontinuities 93 a-d at the memory module sockets, among others.Capacitive discontinuities include through-hole via stubs such as 88, 92a-e and 95 a-d. Potential wire impedance mismatches occur throughout thesignal path, at locations such as 90 a-c and 91 a-d, within thecircuitry of the memory modules, and at resistor 94 on the motherboard.

Once the path reaches the connectors for the modules, furtherthrough-hole via stubs 95 a-d exist in the motherboard, on the way toadditional inductive discontinuities due to the contact metal in theplug-in connectors 93 a-d. In the modules themselves, capacitivediscontinuities occur at the edge connector contact pads 96 a-d, andfurther through-hole via stubs 97 a-d and 98 a-d. All of thesediscontinuities, whether capacitive, inductive, or resistive, result inimpedance mismatches and have negative effects on the signal integrity.In contrast, referring back to FIG. 12, there are very few signaldiscontinuities in the signal paths of the above board interposersubstrate.

Time Domain Reflectometry (“TDR”) is a standard measurement method usedto characterize the quality of a high speed signal path, which methodprovides insight into both the magnitude and physical location ofdiscontinuities in a signal path. The method operates by sending afast-rising step waveform down a signal path, and displaying theresulting reflections on an oscilloscope screen. The time (X-) axisrelates to the physical location along the path, and the amplitude (Y-)axis displays the impedance at each point along the line, measured inohms.

The image of FIG. 14 shows the TDR response of the above boardinterposer signal line of FIG. 12, viewed looking into the line from theend that would contact the CPU pin. In a typical measurement setup, theline under test would be connected to the TDR instrument using a lengthof 50 ohm transmission line 101 which measures as 50 ohms. Ideally, theentire signal path from CPU to memory IC would be 50 ohms, under whichconditions there would be no signal degradation due to discontinuities.

When the signal encounters the line 83 between the CPU pin and the point70 at which it begins to fan out to the memory elements, one sees thatthe typically very narrow line 83 needed to escape from the dense arrayof CPU pins exhibits an impedance of 80 ohms. When the signal reachesjunction point 70, it encounters the beginning of 84 b, an 80 ohm lineto the left, and 82 b, an 80 ohm line to the right; together the twopresent an impedance of 80/2=40 ohms, as shown in FIG. 14. Very shortlyafter passing point 70, lines 82 b and 84 b branch again into lines 82 aand 84 a, which cause the impedance to drop to 80/3=27 ohms.

The 40 ohm impedance level lasts only as long as it takes the signal totravel to the ends of stubs 82 a and 84 a, where it encounters a furtherdrop to 20 ohms as a result of the signal encountering the pincapacitance of the memory ICs located at the ends of stubs 82 a and 84a. After the pulse edge passes the junction points of 82 a-82 b, and 84a-84 b, the impedance returns to the 82 b, 84 b level of 40 ohms untilit reaches the junctions with paths 82 c and 84 c, where a process holdssway that is similar to that at the junctions with 82 a and 84a. Thetime delay between the arrival of the signal at the first memory IC, andthe ends of stubs 82 a and 84 a, and its arrival at the memory ICs atthe ends of stubs 82 c and 84 c, ultimately plays a role in determiningthe maximum operating speed of the system: Since all devices must seestable “1” or “0” signal levels, the system has to wait at least as longas the approximately 100 ps required for the signal to traverse thedistance between the closest and farthest memory ICs.

FIG. 15 displays the TDR signature of the signal path of FIG. 13, namelythat of a conventional motherboard-memory module. In like fashion toFIG. 14, the TDR signal is launched from a 50 ohm coax, 103. Unlike thecase with the above board interposer, the signal first encounters thespring of the CPU socket, 88, and a via in the motherboard, 86, whichintroduce inductive and capacitive discontinuities, respectively. Thesignal then traverses a length of narrow line, 85, similar to 83 in FIG.12 and used for the same purpose, namely to escape from the dense arrayof pins beneath the CPU socket. Because line 85 is narrow, its impedanceis well above 50 ohms, shown as >90 ohms in FIG. 15.

At the end of segment 85 the signal runs into a series of short lengthsof line 90 a-c of varying width and dielectric environments due to theirlocations within the circuit substrate stack up, which lines changebetween layers of the PCB through vias 92 a-c. The varying widths of thelines, their dielectric environments, and the capacitive vias all leadto impedance discontinuities that are less than 50 ohms.

Along the way to the memory modules, the signal passes throughterminating resistor 94, which is located on the top or bottom side ofthe circuit substrate and is connected to the buried signal pathsthrough vias 92 d-e. The resistor 94 in this case presents a resistanceof 34 ohms, while the vias exhibit their typical capacitivediscontinuities 92 d-e in FIG. 15.

The signal traverses a short length of line 91 a, at which point itreaches the location of the first memory module 87 a and its associatedsocket 93 a, where one sees a discontinuity due to via 95 a an inductivediscontinuity due to connector spring contact 96 a, and a capacitivediscontinuity at the metal pad on the memory module corresponding to thecontact spring in the connector. Once on the memory module, the signalpath traverses additional vias 97 a and 98 a, and various short lengthsof line on the way to the memory ICs mounted on the module.

It is important to note that the above description covers only thesignal path to and on the first of several memory modules; eachsucceeding module in the chain adds its own set of similar reflections,as seen in subsequent groups of similar reflections in FIG. 15.Ultimately, the signal arrives at terminating resistor 89, which maypresent very low impedance.

As in the case of FIG. 14, the time delay between closest and farthestmemory ICs plays a role in setting the maximum operating speed of thesystem. In the case of the conventional CPU-to-motherboardconfiguration, the delay amounts to an estimated 800 ps—eight times thatfor the above board interposer-based system of FIGS. 12 and 14.

It is important to note that the only reason we are able to see thediscontinuities in the signal path is that each discontinuity reflectsenergy backward to the source, away from the load. All energy reflectedbackward represents signal information that does not reach the load and,hence, cannot contribute to information transfer. Making up for lossesin the signal path, whether from dissipative resistive effects, serieswiring parasitics, or impedance discontinuities, requires theexpenditure of extra power to increase the signal amplitude to make upfor losses.

In addition to the advantages of path lengths under ¼ wavelength andfewer signal discontinuities, it is desirable that the signal paths tothe components be equal for signaling and clocking coordination. FIGS.16-19 show examples of how the above board interposer can be configuredto ensure equal path lengths. FIG. 16 shows the interposer 14 connectedto a peripheral circuit 100 that has two sets of connections 102 and104. By configuring the interposer as shown, the components have equalpath lengths to the CPU.

Several variations on this configuration exist. FIG. 17 shows aconfiguration in which the interposer is folded to provide equal pathlengths to the connections 102/104 and 106/108. FIG. 18 shows amulti-layer interposer resulting from the folded configuration of FIG.17, which is then joined. FIG. 19 shows a similar folded and joinedconfiguration for the peripheral circuits, which are then stacked. Theflexibility and capacity adaptation of these configurations is a furtheradvantage of the flexible, above board interposer.

This discussion this far has focused on an above board interposer usedon current motherboards for computing devices. However, if one were toassume the presence of the interposer at the design point of themotherboard, one could eliminate the fanout area on the motherboard suchas that area shown as 110 in FIG. 20. The board 112 in this example is asingle socket server. FIG. 21 shows a resulting motherboard 114 with theDRAM memory wiring and connectors eliminated. The motherboards designedwith the assumption that the interposer will be used will be referred tohere as ‘streamlined’ motherboards. Simulations have shown that thisreduces the board size by 28%. The below table shows the projected boardreduction sizes for different motherboard architectures based upon thenumber of processor sockets. Note that some architectures have rangesdepending upon the layout of the board.

Architecture Board area reduction (%) Single socket server 28 Doublesocket server 33-40 Quadruple socket server 66In addition to assuming a retrofit application, the discussion up tothis point has not addressed the possible configuration of theperipheral circuits on the interposer, except in a general sense. Asmentioned above, the peripheral circuits on the interposer may consistof memory circuits such as system memory, cache, etc. FIG. 22 shows anembodiment where the peripheral circuits can function as ultra-fast, offchip, meaning off the CPU, DRAM cache.

A typical memory architecture has some predetermined number of ‘lanes’for memory access. For example, an Intel® X58 motherboard has 3 memorylanes and 6 memory DIMMs. In FIG. 22, the peripheral circuits 116 on theinterposer consist of 64 to 128 GB cache memory, with further access viathe pass-through connections mentioned before to a 64 to 128 GB mainmemory 118. Obviously, many other memory capacities could be envisioned,this is merely one example.

Another advantage gained by elimination of the DIMMs in the streamlinedmotherboards comes from the reduction of the number of components thatcan fail under thermal cycling. Heat management has become a criticalissue in motherboard design and operation as processing power hasincreased. The number of components reduces the number of possiblepoints of failure. By eliminating the DIMM connectors, or other types ofperipheral circuit connectors, the number of through-hole vias, solderjoints, wiring runs, edge contacts, connectors, DIMM PCBs, resistors andcapacitors removed from the board number in the tens of thousands. Byemploying the above board interposer, these possible points of failurevanish.

In addition to reducing the number of components that may fail duringthermal cycling, the above board interposer architecture may employshort length memory thermal paths to the CPU heat sink. FIG. 23 shows anexample of this. In FIG. 23, the heat from the peripheral circuit 120 onthe interposer 14 is delivered via a PGS graphite sheet 121 to anexisting heat sink 122. In this embodiment, the heat sink 122 is coupledto a cooler 124 via a heat pipe 123.

FIG. 24 shows a direct contact embodiment in which the flexibility ofthe interposer 14 is used to put the peripheral circuit chip 120 intodirect contact with a heat sink 128. In this embodiment, the heat sinkconsists of a water or other liquid cooled block.

FIG. 25 shows another embodiment in which the interposer 14 holds theperipheral circuits such as 120. The peripheral circuits in turn are incontact with the PGS graphite sheet 121 by the surface of the circuitsaway from the interposer. The PGS graphite sheet 121 then forms athermal/mechanical interface with the heat sink 128, possibly includinga copper mounting block 130. Materials other than graphite may be usedin the sheet 121, including various metals, polymers, etc.

Many other forms of heat sinks exist than the water cooled block or theheat pipe to a remote cooler block discussed this far. FIG. 26 shows asimilar embodiment to FIG. 25, except that this embodiment employs anair-cooled heat sink block 132 with heat pipes such as 134 thermallycoupled to cooling fins 134. The flexibility of the interposerarchitecture allows for several different possibilities for thermalmanagement.

Another variation mentioned but not discussed in any detail addressesthe number of locations of the peripheral circuits. Returning to FIG. 2,the interposer 14 shown has an array of peripheral circuits on one sideof the array of connectors for the CPU. No limitation of this type ofconfiguration should be implied and none is intended. For example, theperipheral circuits may be on one side, two sides, three sides or allfour sides of the array of connector for the CPU. Further, the array ofperipheral circuits may have more than one bank of circuits. Theinterposer may make multiple folds when inserted into the motherboardsocket, allowing for multiple banks of peripheral circuits. Similarly,multiple banks may be achieved using the connectors on the interposershown in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

In addition, the interposer may connect in a coplanar fashion withanother circuit. FIG. 27 shows an embodiment in which the above boardinterposer 14 couples to another circuit 140. The connection may be madein several ways. This particular embodiment uses PCB edge connector pads146 on the interposer 14 and the target circuit 140. These contacts arecovered with a ‘Zebra strip’ 144. A Zebra strip normally consists of arubber or plastic strip with carbon, or other conductive material, bandsthat connect between the edge connector pads 146 on each circuit. Zebrastrips typically mount to the boards with an adhesive and pressureplates such as 142. This type of mounting can be very tolerant ofcircuit substrate thickness mismatches, mechanical misalignments, gaps,etc.

As mentioned above, other variations include the different type ofconnectors used in connecting the CPU to the interposer and between theinterposer and the motherboard. One such variation includes pin gridarrays. FIG. 28 shows an example of connector pins such as 150 insertinginto a center opening of the copper capture pad in the socket on themotherboard. Openings in the interposer 152 allow the pins to penetratethe interposer, while having traces in the interposer to connect to thepins.

The advantages of the above board interposer are varied and numerous, asdiscussed above. Although there has been described to this point aparticular embodiment for an above board interposer, it is not intendedthat such specific references be considered as limitations upon thescope of this invention except in-so-far as set forth in the followingclaims.

1. A computing device, comprising: a circuit substrate having a socket;a main processor inserted into the socket; an interposer substrateinserted between the socket and the main processor, the circuitsubstrate, the socket and the interposer substrate being electricallyconnected; and peripheral circuit modules residing on the interposersubstrate, wherein each peripheral circuit module has an electrical pathhaving a path length to the main processor less than one-quarter of awavelength of signals that will travel the electrical path.
 2. Thecomputing device of claim 1, wherein the interposer substrate hasmultiple connections, such that path lengths between the main processorand each connection are equal.
 3. The computing device of claim 2,wherein the interposer substrate is folded.
 4. The computing device ofclaim 2, wherein the interposer substrate comprises a multi-layersubstrate resulting from the interposer substrate being folded multipletimes.
 5. The computing device of claim 4, wherein the modules arestacked.